Under Haunted Skies
by HanaKimiCali
Summary: The New Directions have started a new year and their first assignment of the year is to sing at a Rehabilitation Center to cheer up some of the patients, but when Kurt meets Blaine Anderson, he does so much more than that.
1. Pretty Pretty Please

It was the first week of school and Kurt was already tired of all the looks he was getting from Kurofsky and his merry band of bullies. The only thing he had to look forward to was Glee Club. He sat down in his usual spot behind Mercedes as they all waited for Mr. Shue to enter the classroom. When he did he went straight to the white board and wrote one word.

_Charity._

"Charity, that is our theme this week." Mr. Shue said to the class. Some of them rolled their eyes but Kurt kept an open mind. "This weekend we are going to visit a rehabilitation center in Westerville. So we need to pick a few uplifting songs to cheer them up." He finished and looked out at his unenthusiastic glee members.

"We've been down this road before Mr. Shue - why do we need to get juice boxes thrown at us by a bunch of druggies?" Puck said with irritation in his voice. Kurt remembered the juice box incident from the Children's Hospital they volunteered at before the end of the last school year. He shuddered at the thought; at least it was better than slushies.

"Yes, it's a rehab center, but not everyone there is dealing with drug addictions. A lot of these people are overcoming physical injuries and diseases. What they need right now is a bit of cheerfulness." Mr. Shue said with a reassuring smile and finally, after a long debate the rest of the Glee Club decided that they would do the impromptu show.

Throughout the new few days they worked out a song selection for three songs that would definitely cheer up everyone that was at the center. That Saturday they all got up early in the morning and met each other outside of McKinley High School, boarded the bus and were on their way to the center in Westerville. They stepped into the rec room, there was a long table covered with breakfast pastries, coffee and tea for the patients. On the other side of the room was a small stage that they were going to perform on. As most of the Glee club broke off into groups to practice their numbers once more, the patients that were going to enjoy today's performance started to trickle in and find seats. Some came in with their eyes downcast like they didn't want to be there in the first place. Some seemed excited to have something different in their everyday lives. Some came in on crutches or with the aid of a nurse. About fifteen minutes later, everyone was seated and the head nurse came up to the microphone that stood at the center of the tiny stage.

"From McKinley High School in Lima, the New Directions!" She proclaimed before she quickly stepped off the stage and sat in the first row of seats. Rachel stepped up to the microphone just as the music kicked in.

Made a wrong turn  
Once or Twice  
Dug my way out  
Blood and Fire

Kurt stepped out from the lineup with a microphone in his hand and began to sing beside Rachel.

Bad decisions, that's all right  
Welcome to my silly life

The lights shined on all of them, as they sang united when the music creshendoed around them.

Mistreated, misplaced, misunderstood  
Miss no way, it's all good  
It didn't slow me down  
Mistaken, always second guessing  
Underestimated, look, I'm still around  
Pretty pretty please, don't you ever ever feel  
Like you're less than, less than perfect  
Pretty pretty please, if you ever ever feel  
Like you're nothin', you are perfect to me.

Kurt sang as best he could as he gave the words to everyone in the room. He looked at each and every face while he sang and his eyes fell on one particular boy. He had short curly hair and a layer of stubble on his cheeks. He looked up and they both made eye contact with each other and for a split second, Kurt almost forgot to sing.


	2. Forget The Horror Here

At that moment, Kurt didn't know what it was about the boy exactly that drew him in. It was almost as if some kind of magnetic pull was drawing Kurt's eyes to him. He continued on with the performance and they were met with quiet applause at the end of their set. Mostly from the nurses. Kurt looked back at the boy in the back of the room and saw a pained look on his face and it only made Kurt more curious.

"Okay gang, we are also booked for an hour's worth of visitation time so go on ahead and meet some of the patients. I'll come and get you guys when it's time to head out." Mr. Shue said as he dismissed them. Most of New Directions seemed pretty unenthusiastic about meeting the patients but Kurt looked like a present just fell into his lap. He hopped off the stage and moved straight the scruffy boy in the back of the room. The boy looked up from his hands and saw that Kurt was moving towards him and his body language completely changed, like he was suddenly nervous.

"Hi." Kurt started as he sat down across from the boy, smiling widely. The boy just smiled politely back at him. He tried to busy his hands but in the end just resolved himself to sitting still.

"What did you think of the performance?" Kurt asked and the boy just shrugged; almost out of disinterest.

"I think the compositions were a little forced and you could tell that most of you didn't want to be here." He said seriously and Kurt could feel the heat rising in his cheeks. The kid obviously knew what he was talking about it definitely caught him by surprise.

"You know your Glee club." Kurt said with an embarrassed smile and the boy across from his simply nodded. As if there was nothing left to say, everything that they had in common had already been spread on the table before them. The boy didn't seem too interested in talking after that so they just sat together in silence for a long while. Kurt didn't mind the quiet that surrounded them; the boy seemed perfectly content with just sitting there, fiddling with his fingers. The hour seemed to fly by, and before Kurt could realize how much time had passed, Mr. Shue began to signal that it was time to head back into town. Kurt reluctantly stood up and glanced once more to the boy at the table; who at this point, seemed to not even notice that Kurt had stood up.

"Do you mind if I visit again?" Kurt asked and the boy cracked a smile. Kurt didn't know really what had made him ask, he just knew that he was going to end up there again somehow. The boy reached out a cautious hand towards Kurt.

"My name is Blaine." He said with a kind smile. Kurt took his hand quickly though not wanting to seem too eager. Although he was still surprised by the boys sudden action.

"I'm Kurt." His own name sounded odd on his tongue, like it hadn't belonged to him all these years. Blaine smiled and repeated the name as if he was getting used to the sound of it as well. Kurt stood there just shaking the other boys hand until he heard Mr. Shue calling his name. Blaine was the first to let go, he gave Kurt a heartbreakingly bashful smile and Kurt countered with an awkward smile of his own. Kurt started to walk towards the exit of the Rec room, turning to look back for a moment and waving awkwardly at Blaine. Once he walked out he was met with the brisk Ohio air.

He sat down next to Mercedes towards the back of the bus and watched bitterly as they pulled out of the parking lot of the Center. Although Mercedes looked bored and dying for something to talk about, Kurt didn't have a mind to ask her about it. All he could think of was Blaine and him having to be all alone in that Center.

Kurt returned home in the later afternoon and walked right into the living room, his decision made. He stood next to the loveseat until his father, Burt, finally put the television on mute and looked up at his son.

"Hey Kurt, how was your thing?" Burt asked vaguely.

"It was good. Look Dad - I wanted to ask you about something." Kurt started and Burt just grumbled in response which Kurt understood and his queue to keep talking.

"I want to start volunteering there." Kurt said simply and Burt finally turned and looked up at him, giving his son his compete attention. They looked at each other silently for a while, Burt had a confused look on his face.

"Where?" Burt asked.

"The Rehabilitation Center." Kurt answered.

"Why?" Burt countered.

"Because...meeting those people moved me. I really think I can help them." Kurt said and Burt watched him for a long moment before nodding.

"All right, but it's not going to get in the way of your school work." Burt said with his usual tone of mild sternness and Kurt nodded enthusiastically. "You do the research and we'll look into it."Burt finished and he turned back to the television and unmuted it. Kurt nodded once more before bounding up the stairs with an accomplished smile on his face.


	3. Ships In The Night

A few days later, Kurt was in the choir room, slowly packing up his school bag for the day. Most of the Glee club was already gone for the day. He was just throwing on his messenger bag when Mercedes approached him.

"Hey, a bunch of us are going to bread sticks tonight. You in?" She asked as they walked out of the choir room together and into the quiet halls of McKinley High.

"Sorry Mercedes, I have to go...help my Dad build something." Kurt said quickly as he walked out of the building. Leaving a confused Mercedes behind, watching him walk away.

"I can't believe you started volunteering here. Did we woo you that much?" Blaine asked as he moved his white piece. Kurt's brow furrowed at the move and he watched the board intently, trying to figure out his next move.

"It does seem a bit out of character but...something about this place just drew me in." He said with a quick glance up to Blaine's face, he was smiling. Kurt moved his black knight and leaned back in his chair as he waited for Blaine to make his next move. He could see Blaine blush slightly from his earlier comment as he reached towards his next piece to move across the marble playing board. His fingers gripped it it had seemed but Blaine's face looked as if he was in a struggle. Like his mind and his body were not connected. He told his hand to move but it was just frozen stiff against the chess piece. After a moment of struggle, Blaine's hand moved, dropping his chess piece and knocking over several others.

"Dammit..." Blaine muttered. He pulled his hand away and Kurt could see his cheeks blush fiercely. Blaine looked away and Kurt just looked at the fallen pieces between them, he wondered a lot of things but mostly just felt confusion.

"What happened?" Was all that Kurt could think of to say. It seemed stupid to ask but it was all he had; Blaine looked absolutely mortified.

"It's just my hands...they lock up sometimes..." Blaine quietly continued. "Physical Therapy helps but...every once in a while it still happens..." Kurt looked at him with a sad sympathy but he knew that it was only making Blaine feel worse. Which made Kurt feel guilty.

"It's...it's nothing to be ashamed of." Kurt spoke reassuringly. Finally Blaine looked up into Kurt's soothing blue eyes and it seemed that for one static moment they were the only people in the room that mattered. The moment was broken when once again Blaine drew into himself and broke eye contact with Kurt.

"I'm getting pretty tired..." He nearly whispered. Kurt knew then that nothing he said was going to keep Blaine from leaving. He just stood up from the table at the same time that Blaine did and nodded gently at the suddenly nervous boy in front of him. Blaine walked away from the table and went towards the Rec room exit and had a nurse escort him back to his room. Kurt just watched silently, wishing there was something more he could have said.

Once it hit eight o'clock, it was time for the patients to get to sleep and Kurt spent the next half hour cleaning up the Rec room. He was being helped by another volunteer nurse, who stopped and looked up at him.

"All right Kurt, time to do our hall rounds and then we'll get out of here." She said. Marsha was her name, Kurt thought she had a friendly smile and a kind way of talking to all the patients here. He always enjoyed watching her interact with the people who stayed here. Kurt set the rest of the chairs upside down on the white circular tables and went to follow her out of the Rec room.

After about fifteen minutes, Kurt came to a room at the end of the hall and peered into the small window on the door. He was met with a sight that made his heart skip a beat. Curled up in an impossible ball, in a tiny twin bed was Blaine. His eyebrows were furrowed together and his arms curled underneath his head as he slept. His mind was seemingly being plagued with nightmares. Kurt watched him for a silent moment before Marsha arrived at his side and glanced inside the room to see who Kurt was looking at.

"What's wrong with him?" Kurt asked, his body acting on its own. He hadn't meant to ask it aloud.

"Looks like he's having a nightmare..." Marsha answered quickly. She was about to move onto the next room but Kurt stopped her, finally pulling his eyes away from Blaine.

"No...I mean, why is he here? In a place like this? What happened to him?" Kurt asked rabid fire questions, he almost wasn't able to turn his brain off and stop. He knew that he shouldn't ask, it wasn't his business. However, he couldn't imagine anything so horrible happening to Blaine that he would end up in a place like this. He knew it wasn't drugs, the people that were there for drug rehabilitation were kept in a separate wing of the center; as they tended to have night terrors and that would only cause problems with the other patients. Marsha gave him a quick sympathetic look.

"You know that's not my story to tell. If you want to know, you can ask him yourself. But I don't know if he'll tell you." Marsha said before she walked off to check on the next room. Kurt just turned back to Blaine's room, peering in once more. Throughout all their conversing, Blaine had tossed and turned and was now facing away from Kurt, his face hidden from view.


	4. Eyes Wide Open

As Kurt lay in his bed that night, he kept thinking back to everything that had happened that day. A million different things crossed his mind, he couldn't slow them down no matter how hard he tried. He tried to pinpoint one thought but he couldn't; his brain was racing so quickly. Finally, after an hour of trying to sleep, he sat up in his bed; defeated. He got out of bed and pulled on a plain white t-shirt and lazily walked downstairs; heading for the kitchen.

To his surprise, the kitchen light was already on and his Dad was standing at the island in the center of the room. Burt looked up in surprise when he heard his son shuffle into the room; his butter knife covered in white mayonnaise paused briefly above his slice of bread.

"Kurt, what are you doing up?" Burt asked as he topped the last of his sandwich and took the first delicious bite. Kurt sighed heavily as he sat down on a stool at the island.

"I'm worried about someone. It's just keeping me up is all." Kurt said vaguely.

"Someone from the Rehab center?" Burt asked, on the dot as usual and Kurt just nodded quietly. There was a long silence for a while as Kurt collected his thoughts.

"It would be rude, right?" Kurt started but his father only answered him with a confused expression so Kurt continued quickly. " To ask him what happened to him? It would be rude?" Kurt asked, as if getting his Father's confirmation wouldn't solidify what he already knew. Burt looked at his son with an expression that Kurt had seen many times before. Of course it was rude. Of course it was none of his business.

"You know it's not your place to ask something so personal to someone you hardly know." Burt said and yes, he was right. Kurt sighed and rested his hand on his cheek.

"I don't know why but I feel like I can help him. But how can I if I don't know what happened it him?" Kurt muttered to the open air as he sat with thoughts of Blaine rushing through his mind. He wondered over and over as to what could have happened to him that made his hand freeze up like that.

It was a couple of days before Kurt was able to go back to the Rehab center for his next volunteer shift. Part of him was incredibly excited to see Blaine again but he had his worries as well. Kurt took his time picking up his Volunteer badge at the front desk before he inevitably had to walk into the Red room and start interacting with everyone. He scanned the room and quickly found Blaine, sitting at his usual table by the large bay window that looked out into the front courtyard. He looked solemn and alone, as he always did, his fruit cup sat forgotten on the table in front of him. Kurt watched him for a few minutes; sometimes he felt he could just watch Blaine and time would slip away like it was nothing. Kurt tried to snap himself out of his thoughts quickly, out of his trance as he decided to walk over and speak to Blaine.

"Hey Blaine." Kurt tried to say casually. Before he even turned to look at Kurt, a smile erupted onto Blaine's face. He looked at Kurt with a happy look on his face; smiling with not just his lips but his eyes as well.

"Kurt. I was wondering when you were going to visit again." Blaine said.

"Well, rehearsals for regionals has kept be busy." Kurt said as he sat down across from Blaine, glancing at Blaine's untouched fruit cup.

"You haven't eaten." Kurt mentioned and Blaine just shrugged.

"I don't like peaches." He said, hardly even glancing down at the fruit cup in front of him, his eyes were stuck on Kurt. Kurt knew what he was about to ask, he just didn't know how to get started. He was mentally preparing himself for Blaine's friendly attitude to take a dramatic shift and it was causing his nerves to stand on edge.

"Listen Blaine, there was something that I wanted to ask you..." Kurt started as he took a quick glance up at Blaine, who had a curious smile on his face. Kurt's brain was yelling at him to stop, to not open up that emotional door in Blaine but his heart was telling him that it was important to know.

"Feel free to tell me that I am out of line," Kurt started, stammering over the words like he was a little kid. "...I was just wondering why...why you were here?" The smile left Blaine's face almost immediately and Kurt wished he could turn back time and take it all back.

"I'm sorry, I know it's none of my business. Somehow I just thought I would be able to help you if I knew..." Kurt's mouth was rushing to keep up with all the apologies swimming in his mind. To explain himself as quickly as possible but Blaine just waved off his words.

"You don't have to explain, you just caught me by surprise. I also assumed you would have asked sooner." Blaine said, smiling weakly. Kurt was shocked, he had thought for sure that Blaine would have shut down again like he had the other day.

"You're not angry?" Kurt asked, just to be sure.

"No, of course not. It's perfectly normal to be curious. Like I said, I'm just surprised." Blaine said and it immediately comforted Kurt. "It's just a difficult subject for me to talk about." Blaine added. Kurt felt a bit guilty at those words. He wanted to bring light to Blaine's eyes, not take it away. He didn't want Blaine to relive an upsetting past.

"You don't have to tell me..." Kurt mumbled.

"Dr. Bernard says it's good to talk about it with people so..." Blaine said and they sat in an awkward silence for some time until Blaine finally took a deep breath and started to tell the story.

"It was the Sadie Hawkins dance last school year, you know, the dance where the girls ask the guys. I had just come out to my friends and through the high school grapevine, everyone found out..." Blaine started and Kurt did his best to keep the surprise on his face to a minimum. So Blaine was gay and something about him being here had to do with that fact. He could practically feel his heart swelling up in his chest.

Blaine continued, "...so I asked a close guy friend of mine to go with me. We got dressed up, we went, we danced and everything was picturesque. After the dance we were waiting for his Dad to come and pick us up and these three classmates of ours came up from behind us and basically...beat the shit out of us." He struggled to keep his voice even towards the end. Kurt didn't know what to say so he just stayed silent.

"My friend turned out okay, just minor contusions while I got the worst of it. Taking a baseball bat to the back of the head effected all of my regular brain patterns and motor functions so I had to start going to physical therapy daily and classes to relearn how to spell and draw and such. So, that's why I am here." Blaine and he finally looked up from his hands and into Kurt's eyes; wanting to see how he was taking everything.

"I...I can't believe that you had to go through something like that." Kurt said. He could practically see the pain now, the fear beneath Blaine's eyes. He wondered how he hadn't seen it before. Blaine looked into Kurt's eyes and Kurt could tell that he was about to pull away. He was about to pull himself in and shut down completely like he had done the other day and Kurt couldn't let that happen. Not after Blaine had opened himself up so much just for Kurt, really gave Kurt a glimpse inside. To revert to such a introverted mess was the last thing that Kurt wanted for him. Kurt decided on the simplest of gestures. He reached across the table and laid his hand down gently across Blaine's balled fist. Blaine instantly froze, looking down at their hands and then back into Kurt's sure eyes.

"You don't have to be afraid of them anymore, they can't get you here." Kurt said. Blaine found himself smiling at Kurt, his chest tightened in a way that he had never felt before. For the first time since he had come to this place, broken and alone, he was moved with a feeling of happiness. They sat like that in silence for a long while until Blaine exclaimed that he was feeling tired and he wanted to go rest. This time he let Kurt escort him from the Rec room to his bedroom instead of waving over one of the nurses to do it. They walked together down the stark white halls until they arrived at the end of the hall, Blaine's bedroom. They looked at each other for a long while, both not knowing how they should part. Finally Blaine reached out towards Kurt, wrapping his arms around Kurt's neck; pulling him in what could only be called a loving embrace. Kurt hugged him back as hard as he could, burying his head into the crook of Blaine's shoulder; hoping that his feelings were being properly conveyed.

"Thanks." Blaine said simply before he released the hug. Kurt simply smiled weakly as Blaine turned and stepped into his bedroom. When the door shut with a click, his smile faltered a bit. He hadn't really thought his question through when he had asked it, he never through that Blaine would have been here because of some physical trauma; and emotional. He stood in the quiet hallway before glancing into Blaine's room once more. He looked so small in his room, like it was swallowing him whole.


	5. Still Alive For You, Love

It took Kurt longer than usual to arrive home that evening, driving slowly and taking the long way home while he let his mind think over everything that Blaine had told him. He arrived at his house a few minutes past nine and from the lights that were on in the living room, he could tell that his Dad was waiting up for him. Only minutes after Kurt had walked in the door and Burt already noticed his sons despondent demeanor. Kurt said down on the loveseat next to the couch in their living room, tossing his volunteer name tag on the coffee table.

"Rough day at the rehab center?" Burt asked and Kurt just scoffed.

"Let me ask you something?" Kurt said out loud, even if Burt didn't want to talk about it, Kurt would have continued either way. "...If I was beaten to a pulp by my classmates for being gay and had to spend all of my time in a rehab center to relearn how to spell and how to hold a fork - you would visit me right?" Kurt asked, anger seeping from every exaggerated syllable. Burt suddenly looked very worried as he hung on every word that Kurt was saying.

"Kurt...what is this about?" Burt asked, ignoring that what Kurt had said had even been a question.

"I asked him. Blaine. I know you told me to leave it alone, that it was none of my business, but I asked him anyway. Why he was in the rehab center. Turns out he was nearly beaten to death for going to a school dance with a boy..." Kurt explained, his voice breaking at the very last second and he hated it.

"Jesus...Kurt..." Burt started but was quickly cut off by Kurt.

"As if that wasn't bad enough, what's worse is that his parents don't even visit him. His Mom used to but his Dad...never did." Kurt said, his voice finally breaking and his voice caught in his throat. Kurt looked down at his hands as Burt watched his son sadly.

"Then at least he has someone like you there for him." Burt said and Kurt looked up at his father with warm affection. "If his parents are too afraid to love him unconditionally, then at least there is someone looking out for him that isn't." Burt added and Kurt couldn't help himself; a tear slipped down his cheek.

"What gave me away?" Kurt asked with a slight smile. He tried for a long time to keep his affection for Blaine at a distance, only looking out for him because he needed looking out for. He didn't want to make anyone uncomfortable but his Dad could always see past him. Realizing that his need to be there for Blaine was stemming from feelings he was hiding underneath the surface.

"It's written all over your face." Burt said with a hint of smile on his lips. Kurt stood up from his spot on the chair and walked over to his father, enveloping him in a hug. They stayed like that for a while, his arms around Kurt as tears slowly slid down his sons porcelain cheeks; until Burt pulled away.

"Now go on, I know it's early but you have school tomorrow." Burt said as Kurt started towards the staircase.

"Okay - thanks Dad." Kurt said before disappearing up the stairs.

The next few days of school seemed to never end, he just wanted it to be Saturday so that he could go to the center and visit Blaine. It seemed like endless blabber about regionals and motivation propaganda that Mr. Schue spouted on and on about.

When Saturday finally rolled around, he drove excited towards the center in Westerville. When he got there the Rec room was completely full but there was no sign on Blaine. Kurt walked over to Marsha, who was monitoring the food line.

"Marsha - where's Blaine?" Kurt asked and Marsha scowled.

"He hasn't come out of his room all day." Marsha said, looking desperately at Kurt. "Maybe you could get him out of there." She said with a hint of hopefulness in her voice and twinkle in her eye. Kurt just nodded and quickly exited the Rec room and entered the bedroom quarters. He reached the end of the hall and promptly knocked on Blaine's bedroom door; hoping that the situation ahead of him would play itself out easily. He hoped that Blaine was just having a bad day and it wasn't anything more than that. When he glanced through the small window and into Blaine's room however, he could already tell that something was off. Blaine was wrapped up in his blankets, like an Eskimo on the floor beside his desk. His cheeks were tear stained and his eyes were bloodshot.

Kurt didn't bother trying to knock again. Why would he bother when it was clear that Blaine wouldn't just invite him in, he wouldn't do anything; so Kurt just walked in. He let the door shut behind him as he stepped towards Blaine, crouching down beside him.

"Blaine, what's going on? Are you all right?" Kurt asked as he pushed some of the blanket aside so that he could clearly see Blaine's face. Blaine lifted his hazel eyes up to look at Kurt - lingering for a moment on his lips before meeting his eyes. Kurt could practically feel the anguish wafting off of him. After a long moment of just looking at one another, Blaine spoke.

"We had an assignment in therapy yesterday..." Blaine said, his voice cracking as the words came out. Kurt just nodded and waited for him to continue; Blaine pulled the blanket tighter against him. "We were supposed to write about one thing that help us stay positive during our rehabilitation." Blaine explained, his eyebrows screwing together and he spoke the words carefully.

"So...I sat down to write. The first thing that came to mind." He mumbled. He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to keep himself from crying. "But...I can't..." Blaine stuttered once more.

"You can't what, Blaine?" Kurt asked gently. It was still and silent for a moment, just the rhythms of their breathing could be heard between them.

"I can't...spell your name. I know, it's stupid but my brain locks up sometimes and I just can't...I can't place the letters..." Blaine said, feeling his entire chest contract. Kurt looked up at the desk beside them and saw the open composition book lying open. He took a deep breath and grabbed the notebook as well as a nearby pen. Blaine watched him with a sad curiosity. Kurt wrote his name large and clearly on the first line.

"K...U...R...T. Four simple letters, that's all it is." Kurt said with an encouraging smile as Blaine sat up, his blanket still wrapped around his shoulders. Kurt handed the notebook and pen to Blaine.

"Now, you write it, as many times as you need. Sometimes repetition is the best was to remember." Kurt said as Blaine took the pen and stared at the letters on the page.

"Four simple letters." Blaine whispered to himself as he looked up at Kurt with a look that he couldn't quite place. Then he looked down at the page and wrote Kurt's name, his lettering was a bit shaky but Kurt could read his name clearly.

"That's good - it looks good." Kurt said in a voice that he hoped sounded motivating. Blaine felt a sudden surge of confidence that he hadn't felt in himself in a long time.

"Thanks." Blaine said quietly. He seemed a bit startled when Kurt stood up suddenly.

"Now come on, why don't we go down to the Rec room and get something to eat?" Kurt asked as he reached out his hand to Blaine. Blaine stared at his hand for a moment and then locked eyes with Kurt. Just looking into each other's eyes have Blaine another boost of confidence and he reached out and grabbed Kurt's hand.

"Okay." Blaine said with a tentative smile and Kurt pulled him to his feet. Letting his blanket fall down around him. They walked out of Blaine's room and walked down the hall towards the Rec room, hand in hand.


	6. Tearing Up The Oxygen

"Blaine, I have something to give to you." Kurt said excitedly a few days after the conversation between them in Blaine's room. The sun was shining brightly through the curtains that lay across the large bay windows in the Rec room. Kurt sat down in his usual chair across from Blaine just as Blaine looked up at him; his eyes brilliant.

"Tell me it's some kind of chocolate? They keep clear of anything that could cause a sugar rush in this place." Blaine said with a teasing smile as he watched Kurt roll his eyes; a smile playing on his lips.

"You know I have to abide by the rules." Kurt spoke with a laugh on the edge of his voice. He reached into his messenger bag and pulled out a slim piece of paper.

"A brochure?" Blaine asked as he skeptically eyeballed the paper. Kurt just ignored his tone and handed the pamphlet to Blaine.

"Dalton Academy for Boys?" Blaine read the front of the brochure with trepidation in his voice. "No offense Kurt but I don't know if my parents would go for something like this. Plus, it says here that there is an exam to get in." Blaine said, his voice faltering a bit.

"Yes, there is an exam and yes, their tuition is a bit steep but you are getting better and better every day and there is something else that caught my eye...other than the fact that it's an all boys school." Kurt said with a flirtatious wink and Blaine could hardly suppress a giggle. Kurt reached for the pamphlet and turned a few pages until he found what he had been looking for. A small smile graced his lips as he handed it back to Blaine.

"Zero tolerance bullying policy." Blaine read it quietly out loud. He looked up at Kurt and smiled.

"There is no bullying there. You can be yourself and not worry about the consequences." Kurt said and Blaine let himself absorb everything. He let himself think of what it would be like to go to a school where he didn't have to be scared if he looked at another boy for too long; where he could smile and laugh and not be afraid of anyone.

"I...I guess I'll mention it to my folks but...if this school is so great why don't you transfer there too?" Blaine asked as he set the brochure on the table between them.

"Have you seen the price tag? My Dad's a Mechanic." Kurt said and Blaine cracked a smile; Kurt always found his smiles a welcome sight.

"It's the perfect place for you Blaine, you'll be safe there." Kurt continued; Blaine reached out and took Kurt's hand gently. The gesture surprised Kurt but he didn't pull away, he just looked down at their hands for a moment. Memorizing the way that they looked stacked together like playing cards.

"Thanks Kurt, it really means a lot that you would go through so much trouble...just for me." Blaine whispered and Kurt just brushed off his comment with a wave of his free hand. There was silence between them for a while, heat building between their fingertips before Kurt broke the silence.

"Do you want to play checkers?" Kurt asked, getting up to grab the board from the games table before Blaine even had the opportunity to respond.

A week later Kurt was sitting in the choir room between Mercedes and Finn, all of New Directions were contemplating their game plans and song choices for Sectionals when Mr. Schue announced that with Sectionals looming closer every day they were going to start rehearsals every day after school. Even some of the time on weekends so that they could really be their best; they had to be on top of their game if they wanted to make it to Nationals. Everyone did their usual moan and groan at the news but it was Kurt who wanted to put up the biggest fight. Now his rehearsal schedule would cut into all the time he was spending volunteering at the Rehab center; which means he wouldn't be seeing Blaine very often, if at all.

When the bell rang at the end of class, everyone left with chattering gossip following with them but Kurt stayed behind for a moment and approached Mr. Schue as he was gathering his things.

"Mr. Schue, could I speak to you for a second?" Kurt asked as he was met with surprised eyes.

"Of course, what's on your mind?" He asked as he set his bag down on the piano bench and gave his full attention to Kurt.

"I know I didn't tell anyone this but after the performance that we did at the Rehab center, I started volunteering there." Kurt started and Mr. Schue seemed surprised by this. "...and now, I'm torn. Our new rehearsal schedule is really going to cut into my volunteering hours and I've grown really attached to..." He paused. "...everyone there." His knuckles turned white as he clutched the strap of his bag, ignoring the pull in his stomach and the shinning reflection of hazel eyes in his mind.

"This is one of those situations Kurt, where you have to think hard about which is more important to you. The shot at Nationals or...?" Mr. Schue paused and he never finished his sentence. He didn't have to, Kurt knew what he meant. Kurt hesitated for a moment before nodding his head in understanding. Mr. Schue clapped him on the shoulder and then turned to leave the room; leaving Kurt in an even bigger state of confusion.


	7. Are You Ten Years Ago?

The next few weeks passed by and each day was filled with rigorous dance training and spending each class period reworking harmonies. Kurt's every waking moment was filled with thoughts of Glee Club and winning Regionals; he was living and breathing it. So much so that it had been weeks since he had stepped foot in the Rehab center at all. Although it pained him incredibly and he while they were taking breaks from dance rehearsal he often found himself wondering what Blaine was doing; he just didn't have much time to worry about it. He would wonder if Blaine was getting by all right, if he was having trouble with his lessons and if he was happy. It affected him more and more as they days dragged by.

As Regionals grew closer and closer he had less time for himself, spending a lot of his nights having sleepovers with the girls at Rachel's house. They would stay up late and practice choreography, even inventing new moves to show to the gang the next Monday at school. When they finally did arrive at Regionals, they did the best that they could and were elated when all their hard work paid off. The won a place at Nationals.

After their excitement of placing for Nationals, Kurt was finally free from all the Glee club excitement. After school the following Friday, Kurt could hardly contain himself and bolted out of the classroom before anyone else had even packed up their bags. He ignored his friends calling out after him and sprinted towards his car. Pulling out of the parking lot and beginning his drive to Westerville. It had been weeks since he had seen Blaine and he desperate to catch up with him. To tell him all about Regionals and to hear about all of the progress that Blaine had made with his physical therapy; he wondered if he had told his parents about Dalton Academy. The entire drive he had a goofy smile gracing his lips; not capable of keeping his excitement to a minimum.

He arrived at the center nearly an hour later and the first person that he saw after he had clipped on his _Volunteer_ badge was Marsha. She looked up and seemed surprised to see him.

"What are you doing here, kiddo?" She asked, setting down her clip board, her eyebrows furrowing together.

"I know it's been awhile, Glee Club has kept me so busy but I finally have time again. So, I came by to see Blaine. How has he been?" Kurt asked, his heart racing a mile a minute but it stopped suddenly when Marsha's expression turned solemn. She asked Kurt to follow her and all he could do was comply. His mind was reeling with what could have possibly happened while he was away. Blaine had been doing so well before he had left. She led him through the wing of the center that housed all of the patients; the bedroom all the way at the end was Blaine's; Kurt knew it like the back of his hand. Marsha pulled out her keys and unlocked Blaine's room and Kurt peered inside.

The desk had been completely cleared off, pictures pulled down off of the walls and the bed was completely flawless and made with the Centers customary white sheets. There was not a hint of Blaine left in the room. Finally Marsha's voice pierced the silence.

"He was discharged last week. His mother came to pick him up." Marsha said quietly as if the stillness and calmness in her voice wouldn't break Kurt as badly. But it did hurt Kurt, it nearly broke him in half. Kurt didn't need to look back at Marsha to know that she was giving him a sympathetic look and that almost made it worse.

"Can I be alone for a bit?" He asked and Marsha just backed out of the room.

"Take as long as you need." She whispered as she shut the door behind her. Kurt stepped forward and sat down at the desk for a long time, his mind spinning with a lot of thoughts. He opened the drawer next to him and found nothing inside, except for the brochure for Dalton Academy; that was the breaking point for Kurt. He hid his face in his hands and cried. Just as quickly as Blaine Anderson entered his life, he was gone.


End file.
